Related Links

The seven-speed automatic transmission shifts quickly and smoothly. The SL 550 also offers a host of active safety systems.

The electric power steering is fast and direct, with good on-center feel. The adjustable suspension provides a comfortable ride and keeps the car stable under acceleration and in quick maneuvers. / Photos by Mercedes-Benz

More

ADVERTISEMENT

The * * * 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL 550 might be the first glimmerings of a return to sanity at Mercedes, but it's too soon to be sure.

Mercedes was the auto industry's most admired and desired brand for decades. Nobody could knock it off the throne.

Then Mercedes abdicated. Driven by misplaced envy of BMW and Volkswagen's acquisitions of Rolls-Royce and Bentley, respectively, management dusted off Maybach, a brand nobody remembered, missed or cared about. Suddenly, Mercedes was just a stepping stone on the way to something better.

The distraction of creating a new ultimate brand and the cognitive dissonance of relegating Mercedes to No. 2 left the company's engineers and designers rudderless. A generation of Mercedes failed to set new standards in technology, style or luxury.

After years of disappointing sales, Mercedes decided to kill Maybach. It closes next year.

The new SL roadster is an appropriate start to Mercedes' restoration. For decades, each new Mercedes SL was a milestone. They were benchmarks, cars other luxury roadsters would target but fail to equal.

The 2013 SL doesn't reach those heights, but it's a step in the right direction.

Prices for the 2013 SL start at $105,500 for an SL 550 with a 429-horsepower 4.6-liter twin-turbo V8 and seven-speed automatic transmission. The SL 63 AMG features a 530-horsepower 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 and starts at $145,800. Prices have not been announced for the 621-horsepower 6.0-liter twin-turbo V12.

I tested a well-equipped SL 550 that stickered at $131,140. All prices exclude destination charges.

Its price and features put the SL at the high end of that spectrum, but its performance falls in the middle of the pack. Its 4.5-second 0-60 m.p.h. time trails the 911 Carrera S and four-seat M6 but beats the R8 V8 and XKR.

The SL does better on fuel economy. Its EPA rating of 17 m.p.g. in the city, 25 on the highway and 20 combined trails only the Carrera S.

An aluminum body, high-strength steel and other materials help the new SL weigh in about 250 pounds lighter than the 2012, despite being 2.0 inches longer and wider and offering a boatload of new features.

I appreciated the fuel economy and extra room on a weekend road trip to a music festival in Louisville, Ky., this summer. The SL's 10.2-cubic-foot trunk (7.2 with the top open) is just big enough to hold bags for a weekend trip.

The interior is roomy and comfortable, with plenty of storage space. Despite lavish materials -- soft leather, black ash wood and satin-finish chrome -- the overall effect is severe rather than sumptuous. It feels more like a dentist's waiting room than a welcoming den.

The car I tested had the $2,500 Magic Sky Control roof, a glass panel you can darken from tinted but clear to opaque. I didn't find the feature particularly useful, but it's a neat gimmick. The power hardtop opens and closes quickly.

The voice-recognition works well for navigation and hands-free phone calls, but the audio quality of calls was poor.

"Are you in the shower?" one person asked when I called. I ended up using the handset for every call I made. That's unacceptable performance, and it'll earn you an expensive ticket in many cities and states.

The exterior design is low, wide and heavily ornamented with scalloped sides, chrome strakes and vents.

The SL 550 I tested had a gorgeous matte-finish gray paint job.

The 4.6-liter biturbo V8 is equally impressive. More powerful and more fuel efficient than the last SL's 5.5-liter, it delivers 516 pound-feet of torque from 1,800 to 3,500 r.p.m. for effortless acceleration. The transmission shifts quickly and smoothly.

The electric power steering is fast and direct, with good on-center feel. The adjustable suspension provides a comfortable ride and keeps the car stable under acceleration and in quick maneuvers. Big, vented disc brakes have good pedal feel and provide excellent stopping power.

The SL 550 offers a host of active safety systems. They include tunable lane-departure alert and assist, adaptive cruise control, automatic braking for collision avoidance, and blind-spot alert and assist.

Maybach's back where it belongs in the junkyard of history, and the 2013 SL 550 suggests Mercedes may be on its way back, too.